Film festival highlights Jewish culture with movies

Jody Feinberg The Patriot Ledger

Sunday

Nov 5, 2017 at 1:00 PM

BOSTON - Sixteen years after he began his documentary, a Milton college professor said he is thrilled audiences will get to see the story of a Holocaust survivor who gave hope to Boston youth and spearheaded the creation of an historic memorial on the Freedom Trail.

“Etched in Glass: The Legacy of Steve Ross” by Roger Lyons premiers at The Boston Jewish Film Festival, which presents 39 films Nov. 8-20 at 14 venues in and around Boston.

“When I began, I knew very little about him other than that he was connected to the New England Holocaust Memorial,” said Lyons, a freelance television and film producer and Curry College adjunct professor who teaches writing for broadcast. “What’s amazing is the way he has changed the lives of so many people.”

What began as a brief profile for WBZ-TV in 2001 now is a 55-minute film that covers Ross’s life. Although he was unable to secure adequate funding, Lyons felt the story was so “rich and inspirational” that he stuck with the project and filmed Ross intermittently over the years.

“My fear was that he wouldn’t get to see it,” said Lyons, who has served for 30 years on the board of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. “Because of all the hate and issues with racism and immigration and anti-semitism, it became more important to get it done and out there.”

Using archival photographs, interviews, and footage of Ross engaging the public, the story covers his first nine years in a Polish village, five years in a concentration camp, and the years following his arrival in Boston at age 16, where his name changed from Szmulek Rozental. It shows how he used his psychology degree and youth counselor job to turn around the lives of troubled Boston youngsters. Since retirement, Ross, 91, has devoted himself to speaking to Boston Public School students about finding hope after despair and to establishing the New England Holocaust Memorial in 1995 on Congress Street.

And repeatedly, Ross spoke about his search for the American soldier whose kindness after his liberation from Dachau in 1944 made him feel like a human being and restored his belief in humanity. For 75 years, Ross has kept the small American flag the soldier gave him and displayed it during his public appearances. A particularly poignant moment in the film is when Ross in 2012 meets the relatives of this soldier.

While the film had a private screening in June at West Newton Cinema and won an audience award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August, it has since been updated to include the rededication of the New England Holocaust Memorial in August after it was vandalized. Lyons will answer questions after the now-complete film is shown Nov. 8 and Nov. 10 at Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline.

Like “Etched in Glass,” other festival films focus on the importance of a single individual. “Heather Booth: Changing the World” is the story of the 1960s civil rights worker and 21st century community organizer. A conversation follows with director Lilly Rivlin.

“Bang! The Bert Berns Story,” is about the record producer who created the hits “Twist and Shout,” “Brown Eyed Girl,” and “Piece of My Heart” and launched the careers of Van Morrison and The Isley Brothers. A complicated man, he also became involved with the gangster underworld before he died at age 38. It’s shown Nov. 18 in in Newton, followed by a rock party, and also Nov. 19 in Harvard Square.

“House of Z,” screens Nov. 14 in Brookline, and is the story of Zac Posen, a wunderkind New York City fashion designer who crashed after early fame but then recovered from his downfall. The documentary “Big Sonia,” gives us a glimpse into the life of Holocaust survivor, Sonia Warshawski, an independent, 91 year old woman. Showings are Nov. 15 at Coolidge Corner Theatre and Nov. 19 at West Newton Cinema.

A new addition to the 29-year-old festival is NuWave: The Virtual Reality Experience, which features virtual reality films from the United States and Israel and a cocktail party discussion on trends in virtual reality storytelling. It screens Nov. 16 in Brookline.

Short films can be seen at the Short Film Competition on Nov. 9 in Somerville and at the Women on the Verge Short Film Program Nov. 19 at the ICA Boston.

A highlight of the feature films is the romantic comedy “Keep the Change,” whose cast stars Tibor Feldman (“The Sopranos”) and Jessica Walter (“Arrested Development”) and includes actors on the autism spectrum. It’s the story of the relationship between David, desperate to be perceived as “normal” and Sarah, a woman confident in her way of experiencing the world. Screening as the closing night selection on Nov. 20 at the Boston Public Library, it won Best Narrative Feature at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.

Film lovers can also get a sneak peek of the upcoming romantic comedy, “The Boy Downstairs,” starring “Girls” alum Zosia Mamet as a woman who inadvertently moves into her ex boyfriend’s apartment building.

Actress Marlee Matlin will join the festival for a screening and conversation about a Jewish film that inspired her Nov. 19 at he Museum of Fine Arts. Matlin won an Academy Award for her role in the 1986 film “Children of a Lesser God.”

“This will be one of the most engaging and dynamic Festivals we’ve had,” said Ariana Cohen-Halberstam, the festival’s artistic director. “The diversity of films provides a unique lens into the history that makes us who we are, as we reveal the stories that have helped to shape today’s world.”

Jody Feinberg may be reached at jfeinberg@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @JodyF_Ledger.